Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory and called him a “brave man”.

At an event in the Russian city of Sochi, the Russian president said that Trump had been “persecuted from all sides” during his first term in the White House.

Putin also said Trump’s claim that he could help end the war in Ukraine “at least deserves attention.”

During his campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said he could end the war “in a day,” but never elaborated on how that might happen.

During his speech, which lasted several hours and covered a wide range of topics, Putin also spoke about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July, which “impressed” him.

After Trump was shot, he pumped his fist in the air and mouthed the words “fight, fight, fight” before being dragged away by Secret Service agents.

“In my opinion, he behaved very correctly and courageously, like a man,” Putin said.

Asked whether he was ready for talks with Donald Trump, Putin replied: “We are ready, we are ready.”

Trump had already said Thursday that he was willing to talk to Putin, telling NBC News, “I think we’ll talk.”

The Kremlin has been widely accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to boost Donald Trump’s campaign against Hillary Clinton. Moscow rejected the claim.

US special counsel Robert Mueller investigated allegations of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia in 2016, but said in a report three years later that he had found no evidence of a conspiracy.

Elsewhere on Thursday, leaders of the European Political Community discussed Trump’s return to the White House in Budapest.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a “very warm” and “productive conversation” with the president-elect.

“But we must do everything to ensure that the results of our interaction between Ukraine and America, all of Europe and America are productive and positive,” he added.

Many in Ukraine and Europe fear that Trump could slow, if not stop, the flow of American military aid to Kiev after he takes power in January.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reassured Zelensky at the summit that Britain’s support for Ukraine in the war with Russia remains “ironclad”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who previously said he celebrated Trump’s victory by “happily tapping into vodka supplies” – said the US and Europe now face difficult trade talks.

Orban, a close Trump ally, said at a news conference that “the trade issue with the US will arise and it will not be easy.”

Before his election victory, Trump announced that he would impose 10% tariffs on all imports.

“There was agreement that Europe should take greater responsibility for its own peace and security in the future. To put it more bluntly, we cannot expect Americans to be the only ones who care about us,” Orban said.